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All Elite Wrestling hosted their first official Pay-Per-View "Double or Nothing" on May 25th. It was met with a lot of fanfare and hype prior to the event, with many believing beforehand that it would finally be the answer to WWE as a competitor in the pro wrestling industry.
Also read: 5 options for Jon Moxley at All Elite Wrestling
And from the look of things...they were right to believe that. All Elite Wrestling's Double or Nothing delivered on pretty much all fronts. It was initially called a glorified indy show with great production value, but it turned out to be a lot more than just that.
It's incredible how time just flew despite it being a four-hour PPV and it didn't feel like a single moment was wasted. More than anything, AEW really went out of the box with the unpredictability element - something that people really crave in an era of predictable wrestling from the likes of WWE.
The best part is how AEW went out of their way to surprise us on more than one occasion. Here are the biggest surprises from Double or Nothing.
#5. Bret Hart's appearance
One of the major shocks of the night was the appearance of the legendary Bret "The Hitman" Hart. When the announcer shouted "The best there is, the best there was, the best there ever will be", fans instantly rose to their feet in a roar of approval.
It was surreal to see Bret Hart, who was last seen in the WWE Hall of Fame, appear and present the All Elite Wrestling World Championship. He called out Adam "Hangman" Page, who is the de-facto #1 contender (along with Chris Jericho) for the title.
Then, there was a confrontation with MJF that saw the involvement of Jungle Boy and Jimmy Havoc too. Unfortunately, The Hitman reportedly tripped and fell off stage on the way back. We hope he's healthy!
#4. Awesome Kong's appearance
The women's match at Double or Nothing was all set to feature a triple threat match between Britt Baker, Kylie Ray, and Nyla Rose. That was an exciting match because it was built as three young female stars who are set to be the future of AEW.
Also read: AEW Double or Nothing Results - Winners, Grades, Highlights, Reaction, Video Highlights & Analysis
But then, Brandi Rhodes came out and made an announcement that changed it all. She felt that the match was "missing" something and pointed to the stage, revealing the arrival of Awesome Kong and the addition of her into the match.
While Britt Baker did end up getting the win (and rightfully so), Awesome Kong's appearance was nothing short of surreal. She may not have made a big name in WWE, but she has always been one of the most dominant female wrestlers ever. Just watch her body of work in TNA and that'll be enough to convince you that she's a force of nature to be dealt with.
#3. Dustin Rhodes' blade job gone wrong
We're not going to post a gruelling photo of Dustin Rhodes from his match against Cody, but we can tell you this much - it was pretty much the best match of both of their careers. We've never seen Goldust perform like this and it's understandable why.
It was clear from the match itself as to just how much Dustin Rhodes wanted it and with that performance alone, he seemingly shed away all that was left of Goldust. He seemingly bladed the wrong way, something that led to him getting busted open terribly.
It reached the point where his face was covered in a crimson mask (and not just his red face paint) and blood was flowing out of his head like a waterfall. It was clearly a blade job gone wrong and drew comparisons to Eddie Guerrero-JBL circa 2004.
Nothing short of respect to Dustin Rhodes, who put everything on the line.
#2. Chris Jericho winning clean in the main event
Chris Jericho and Kenny Omega faced off for the second time on PPV after their last encounter on January 4th, 2018. If you're not aware, that was in NJPW's Wrestle Kingdom 12, where Kenny Omega defended the fairly new IWGP United States Champion against Chris Jericho, who made a shocking debut with NJPW.
It turned out to be one of Jericho's career-great matches, even receiving a 5-star rating from Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter. It was a no-brainer that Omega vs Jericho was the main event to make for the first PPV.
And to nobody's surprise - it delivered. The two put on a war of the ages in an epic main event. With Omega being the younger star with a bigger prospect, many felt he would win. They were surprised when Jericho brought out his new finisher and ended up beating Kenny Omega clean, making their score 1-1.
#1. Jon Moxley's appearance
Jon Moxley is here. He's arrived at All Elite Wrestling. While it was expected by many, it was shocking enough that it passes off as a surprise. And make no mistake about it: there was n surprise more welcome than Jon Moxley's appearance.
In case you missed it, Moxley appeared through the crowd right after the main event, going after Chris Jericho and then Kenny Omega on the stage set-up. It was an incredible and surreal moment, not only because of Moxley outside of WWE but the fact that we got to see an interaction between Jon Moxley and Kenny Omega.
With Jericho vs Adam "Hangman" Page official for the AEW World Championship, it makes sense that Moxley will face Omega in the next PPV. More than anything, AEW knows that Moxley vs Omega is a way bigger match than Jericho vs Hangman, even without the World title on the line.
